It Ain't Easy Being Green
I spent Saturday at our local Arbor Day/Earth Day fair. I was helping out a friend whose craft studio had a booth for kids to decorate a canvas snack sack. Green enough, right? There was the usual mix of businesses and groups marketing their "greenness", local gardening groups and such giving stuff away like plant cuttings or seedlings, local government giving away oil pans for when you change your oil, vendors selling various wares (green and not so), fair food (no, not fair trade food, crappy fair food) and jolly jumpers powered by gasoline generators. Wha? I'm kidding right? No, sadly no. I suppose the argument could be made that in order to attract people and their children to the event, one needs such entertainment. And all these trinkets and reusable bags being given away? Made in China. So, in my humble opinion, we, in the land of many oaks, have a long way to go before we can truly call ourselves green.
Some might say I'm being too picky. It reminds me of an article I read recently (wish I could remember where...) about how the "green" movement is and always has been hampered by all the guilt-laden, end-of-the-world, people-are-so-evil rhetoric. Maybe so, but I guess I like to think of it as my religion.
On Sunday, I spent some time finishing up some long overdue projects. I had started a set of napkins for Erin and Tom but got busy and ended up giving them the first half in December (ahem). So those are done and on the way. Then, I finally got around to making some throw pillows for the girls' bed, you know that one we got way back in August of last year. The fabric was some left over Ikea curtain fabric and an Ikea duvet cover we weren't using. I still have a bunch of that groovy curtain fabric - and I'm eying it for another skirt. I'm either becoming very creatively frugal or I'm losing my mind.
2 comments:
We didn't go to this years Earth Day festival because I was so bothered by how wasteful last years was. All the paper flyers, junk food, gas generators--all that same stuff you mentioned. Most of the food vendors gave out their food on Styrofoam plates and cups!! I don't know but I think they are going about it all wrong. It just doesn't feel right. And I'm HUGE into earth friendliness so I totally agree with you.
Love that ikea fabric. Thos pillows would look great in my kid's room!
I am feeling so magnanimous today (I've been looking online at pictures of Johnny Depp and that makes me very happy), that I will try to look on the bright side and say "it's a start". Maybe some of those people who attended the festival walked away with a new outlook, inspired to try better. And now you know what suggestions to make to the organizers of this festival. It sounds like they need a few guidelines for their vendors.
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